By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, May 13, 2018
No. 2-seeded Alexander Zverev did not face a break point sweeping Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-4 to capture his third career Masters championship in Madrid.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
Elevating in Madrid's altitude, Alexander Zverev reached rare Masters air.
Breaking to open both sets, Zverev dismantled Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-4, capturing his first Mutua Madrid Open title.
Watch: Nadal on Clay is Better Than Federer on Grass
It is Zverev's third Masters crown following his triumphs in Rome and Montreal last year and solidifies the 21-year-old German's elite status.
Zverev joins Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray as just the fifth active player with three or more Masters crowns.
It was a dominant display from Zverev, who did not face a break point in the final and did not surrender serve in the tournament.
"For sure I've been playing great tennis," said Zverev, who collected the champion's check of $1.4 million. "(I'm) unbelievably happy right now with my third Masters 1000event, my second on clay. Right now I can't describe it in words."
The 6'6" power baseliner's serve and first strike spoke volumes. Zverev served 65 percent, dropped just six points on his first serve and wrapped up a commanding tournament run sweeping all 48 of his service games.
"I felt great from the baseline," said Zverev, who won his second title of the season following his Munich championship earlier this month. "Obviously serving as well that made a difference. Playing even in Munich probably helped me as well. I hope I can continue it in Rome."
The third-ranked German scored his ninth straight victory collecting his eighth career title.
Playing for his first Masters title, Thiem carried a 4-1 career edge over Zverev into the final and was empowered toppling Rafae Nadal to snap the top-ranked Spaniard's 21-match clay-court winning streak and record 50 straight sets won on clay.
Today, Thiem's defensive return posture that saw him standing near the back wall combined with Zverev's commanding first serve, first-strike attack had the Austrian playing catch-up from the start.
Zverev won the toss, elected to receive and immediately exploited three unforced errors and a double fault from Thiem breaking in the opening game.
That initial break was all the second seed needed imposing his serve streaking through the first set.
The two-time Roland Garros semifinalist was so far back to receive, Thiem could have told time glancing at the linesman's watch.
Unbroken throughout the tournament, Zverev bombed big first serves tearing through a love hold for 4-2.
The Rome champion rolled through another quick hold for 5-3. By then Zverev had won 16 of 19 points played on his serve.
The only real speed bump came when Zverev served fell into a love-30 hole serving for the set. He quickly regrouped stamping a series of stinging serves down the T to seal the 36-minute opening set.
The seventh-ranked Austrian needed to reset, but recoiled when Zverev curled a forehand off the sideline to start the second set. Trying to press the issue, Thiem missed the mark with an inside-out forehand to face break point.
Stepping closer to the baseline, Zverev worked the ball corner-to-corner unloading a heavy forehand starting the second set with his second break.
Swinging freely up a set and a break, Sascha Zverev channeled big brother Misha Zverev with a serve-and-volley in the fourth game. Snapping off a smash and a forehand winner, Zverev held at love for 3-1.
The 24-year-old Thiem was holding his own on serve, but wasn't hitting his forehand with the same precision he showed toppling the top-seeded Nadal and 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson in succession.
Stamping his second love hold of the set, Zverev extended the lead to 5-3.
Tina Turner's anthem "Simply the Best" blared over the sound system as Zverev sealed his third Masters title in 78 minutes.
Zverev raised his record to an ATP-best 26-7, including a 13-2 mark on clay. The world No. 3, the first man to win an ATP title without surrendering serve since John Isner won Newport last July, will now ride a red-hot streak into his Rome title defense next week.
"But it's gonna be difficult physically," Zvereve said. "I played two weeks in a row quite a lot of matches, but a win like this always helps."